The European Parliament and EU member states agreed on Wednesday on legislation to strengthen the rights of millions of workers on digital platforms like Uber and Deliveroo. This text plans to reclassify as employees many people currently considered self-employed in order to strengthen their social protection. While the regulations on the platforms are today very disparate among the Twenty-Seven, the new legislation intends to set identical rules at EU level to determine whether meal deliverers or VTC drivers working for the large digital platforms must be considered employees.

The EU estimates that “at least 5.5 million”, out of a total of nearly 30 million, are the number of platform workers today wrongly considered independent. “Drivers and delivery people will obtain the social rights to which they are entitled” while “the platforms will benefit from legal certainty”, welcomed European Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, at the origin of the draft regulation presented in December 2021. Since then, the text has been negotiated by the co-legislators who announced a political agreement on Wednesday. It will still have to be formally approved by MEPs in plenary session and by the Council of the EU which represents the member states.

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“This is a revolutionary agreement and the first legislative framework for digital platform workers,” rejoiced Italian Social Democratic MEP Elisabetta Gualmini, rapporteur of the text. In order to harmonize the status of platform workers, the new legislation establishes five criteria: the fact that a platform sets remuneration levels, remotely supervises services, does not allow its employees to choose their schedules or refuse work missions, requires the wearing of uniforms, or even prohibits working for other companies. If at least two criteria are met, the platform would be “presumed” to be an employer, and would have to comply with labor law obligations (minimum salary, working hours, sick pay, safety standards, etc.) imposed by the country’s legislation concerned.

Member States will have the possibility to expand this list of criteria. The presumption of employment may be triggered by the worker, by his representatives and by the competent authorities on their own initiative. In the event of a challenge by the platform, it will be the one that must provide proof that the independent status is justified in order to overturn the decision. Companies in the sector say that workers are mostly in favor of independent status. They expressed their concern about the additional costs they will have to bear, saying they fear negative consequences for employment. “We remain committed to Europe and we will continue to advocate for a model that gives platform workers what they say they want: independence, benefits and flexibility,” responded a spokesperson for the American giant Uber on Wednesday. He said he hoped the text would provide “legal clarity”.

These companies, which manage applications connecting customers and service providers, have been faced with numerous lawsuits in Europe and around the world mainly relating to the social security coverage of their workers. The latter also mobilized for better pay and working conditions. The text approved on Wednesday also plans to impose increased transparency on the functioning of application algorithms, by informing workers on the way in which they are supervised and evaluated (distribution of missions, allocation of bonuses, etc.). It will also be prohibited to make certain important decisions, such as layoffs and account suspensions, without human supervision. Platforms will also be required to assess the impact of decisions taken by automated systems on working conditions, health and fundamental rights. The processing of certain personal data will be prohibited, in particular regarding beliefs or private exchanges with colleagues. Platforms will be required to transmit information on the self-employed workers they employ to the competent national authorities and to the unions representing these people.